Julian Assange is a political prisoner worn down by a rigged judicial system that may by no means cease looking for to destroy him 

The WikiLeaks founder is so put upon that I hardly acknowledged him at first this week. The unrelenting cruelty that the UK and Britain are inflicting on him for exposing their struggle crimes is shameful.

On the Excessive Court docket in London this week, the US dealt yet one more blow to Julian Assange, the journalist and founding father of WikiLeaks who continues to languish in a maximum-security jail.

I’ve lined Assange’s extradition hearings from the beginning and attended his Excessive Court docket listening to this week remotely.

The court docket dominated in favor of the US, permitting it to enchantment a choose’s determination to not extradite Assange, on the entire 5 grounds it sought.

Initially, the US had solely been given permission on three out of 5 grounds. Amongst them had been empty assurances to not place Assange beneath Particular Administrative Measures or SAMs (a pleasant approach of claiming torture) ​​– which it might withdraw at any time if Assange had been to “misbehave.”

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On Wednesday morning on the Royal Courts of Justice, the US disputed the 2 remaining grounds on which it was denied permission to enchantment, claiming the knowledgeable witness who gave proof citing Assange as a suicide threat was flawed, and that the choose who agreed with him, erred.

Throughout final yr’s extradition listening to in September and October, the prosecution repeatedly accused knowledgeable witnesses known as by the protection of being biased in Assange’s favor and even having been paid by him. 

The US prosecution known as into query their experience and integrity, a sample that continues effectively into the appeals course of.

The US alleged, particularly, that Professor Michael Kopelman’s psychiatric analysis of Assange misled the court docket. Not due to something to do with medical sciences, however as a result of he omitted the title of Stella Moris (the mom of Assange’s two youngsters) from his report, for the sake of privateness.

On the time, the connection between Assange and Moris was not publicly disclosed. Kopelman expressed concern for his or her security, given the varied threats, surveillance and concentrating on of Assange by US intelligence – together with an try to reap DNA from his little one’s diapers. 

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In court docket, the prosecution’s Claire Dobbin coldly retorted: “Mr. Assange and his household being in a critical predicament […] or involved by their security, one clearly noticed that actually glided by the wayside when it suited Mr. Assange leaking info to the aim of his personal fame.”

The prosecution additionally claimed that Kopelman’s analysis was too partial, given he had relied on self-reporting from Assange – commonplace psychiatric observe. 

One of many world’s main neuropsychiatrists, the concept Kopelman’s medical experience is named into query as a result of he omitted the title of Assange’s associate, is yet one more absurdity, emblematic of the complete case.

Moreover, Kopelman was not the one medical knowledgeable who testified. Quite a few docs, reminiscent of Dr. Deeley, all corroborated a quite simple message: Assange is bodily unwell, he additionally suffers from psychological sickness and can doubtless die if extradited to the US.

One needn’t rely solely on their medical experience: I noticed myself how tattered Assange regarded as he was beamed in by way of video hyperlink; his hair ruffled, tie slung over his shoulders, sporting glasses, a black masks and white shirt, with the plaque ‘HMP Belmarsh’ hanging behind him. 

He regarded effectively past his 50 years, and I truthfully didn’t even acknowledge him at first.

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In court docket, referring to Prof. Kopelman, Dobbin acknowledged “If an knowledgeable has misled the court docket, he has failed in his obligation.”

Whereas the US is complaining that Kopelman misled the court docket, one in all their key witnesses, Sigurdur Thordarson, admitted to fabricating his witness testimony towards Assange in alternate for immunity. So is mendacity and deceptive the court docket solely acceptable when it’s achieved on behalf of the Division of Justice?

Even after this explosive revelation, the US was however granted permission to enchantment. This falsified testimony has but to be introduced up in any of the proceedings. Thordarson’s assertion helped type the premise of Baraitser’s ruling, the place she alleged Assange had engaged in conspiracy to commit pc intrusion – generally known as the ‘hacking-charge’. 

An try to discredit Assange as a cybercriminal, this ‘hacking’ cost was by no means confirmed in court docket and has solely collapsed. As Edward Snowden put it:

Papers writing on Assange ought to point out the core of the US's extradition case—a frail and deeply suspect "hacking" declare—collapsed in June when the US's prime witness recanted his testimony (https://t.co/kD8bxtm4vk). What stays are solely "illegal journalism" costs. https://t.co/5XTs7WPIQW

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) August 11, 2021

In her January four ruling, Baraitser had described the omission as an “comprehensible human response” to Ms. Moris’ predicament, and repeatedly acknowledged that she accepted Kopelman’s medical proof, discharging Assange on well being grounds.

Regardless of this, on the Excessive Court docket, Lord Justice Holroyde discovered that Kopelman had breached provision 19.9 of the Prison Procedures Guidelines and should have made an utility to omit Stella Moris’ identification. 

The US was subsequently given permission to enchantment on all 5 grounds at a listening to to be held in October.

The prosecution claims that Decide Baraitser had erred in her total evaluation of Assange’s threat of suicide. Nevertheless, Prof. Fazel and Dr. Blackwood, the 2 medical witnesses known as by the prosecution, admitted that Assange suffered from despair and was at some threat of suicide, albeit to a lesser diploma. In contrast to Kopelman, nonetheless, they’ve by no means handled Assange and had been uninformed about US jail circumstances.

It was dangerous sufficient that Decide Baraitser had solely blocked Assange’s extradition on well being grounds, and sided with all of the political costs leveled towards the Australian journalist. Now, nonetheless, it appears that evidently the one saving grace of part 91 of the Extradition Act, which prevents extradition if bodily or psychologically oppressive, is being dismantled proper earlier than us.

The US is so decided to actual revenge on Assange it will extraordinary lengths, leaving no stone unturned, with the intention to extradite him, the place a conviction is all however assured at Virginia’s ‘Espionage Court docket’ – the place whistleblower Daniel Hale was sentenced solely two weeks in the past for exposing the US’ horrific drone killings. 

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Undoubtedly, for the US, three out of 5 grounds wouldn’t suffice. It sought to enchantment on all 5, to make sure the eventual success of its case towards Assange, and the extra-territorialization of its draconian legal guidelines. Joe Biden is just choosing up the place Trump left off and ensuring that anybody difficult US intelligence businesses and its struggle machine is made an instance of.

On account of January’s ruling and this week’s, the complete focus of Assange’s case in court docket has shifted solely towards his well being and away from the very actual and harmful risk it presents to all journalists and publishers.

Now we’re now not discussing the US’ assault on press freedoms and its struggle crimes which WikiLeaks uncovered. We’re now not coping with witness testimony from victims of CIA torture, analysts at Iraq Physique Rely, or historians, legal professionals, human rights advocates and journalists. 

The information that US intelligence spied on Assange whereas he was within the Ecuadorian embassy, together with his conversations along with his legal professionals, violating his attorney-client privilege and proper to due course of, or the quite a few travesties and wrongdoing surrounding this case, should not even introduced up.

Naturally, this very a lot pleases the US, as focus is shifted away from its crimes. The architects of the Struggle on Terror are by no means held to account, and the mainstream media doesn’t even trouble to report on this indictment, not to mention level out how rife it’s with foul play.

Whereas the US has but to acquire the ultimate end result it seeks, it’s nonetheless succeeding in its mission towards Assange and sending a message to adversarial journalists all over the place. The authorized course of is dragged out so long as attainable by its unrelenting pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder. Assange doesn’t essentially even need to be extradited nor convicted with the intention to really feel the complete wrath of the US authorities. 

Arbitrarily detained for seven years within the Ecuadorian embassy, and greater than two years in Belmarsh jail – a journalist, who has been convicted of no crime and isn’t even serving a sentence, continues to languish in a most safety jail beneath risk of extradition and as much as 175 years in a federal tremendous max penitentiary.  

And that’s exactly what the US needs: to make the method the punishment.